No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who – and what – he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?

My Thoughts:

This was a hard review to write as I get put of with books that involve the pandemic but this book interested me as the pandemic is not just casually thrown into the story, the story evolves around the pandemic. I found it interesting and I love the descriptions that Catherine the author uses, I felt as though I was seeing the pandemic through two new sets of eyes and it was eye opening to see their views on the whole thing. There is suspense, and a few twists to make the story more exciting, I found the characters were great and relatable, I liked them up until a certain point. I felt the ending was a good one too.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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One for sorrow, two for joy
Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known. A lone bomber is targeting victims across the city and no one is safe.
 
Three for a girl, four for a boy
DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach face death every day – and not just the deaths of the people being taken hostage by the killer.
 
Five for silver, six for gold
When it becomes clear that with every tip-off they are walking into a trap designed to kill them too, Ava and Luc know that finding the truth could mean paying the ultimate price.
 
Seven for a secret never to be told…
But with the threat – and body count – rising daily, and no clue as to who’s behind it, neither Ava nor Luc know whether they will live long enough to tell the tale…

My Thoughts:

I have read every single one of Helen’s books and enjoyed them all. This one was just as brilliant maybe even better. I love following DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach’s lives and seeing what they get up to. I would say you really need to read all the other books to get a sense of each character and hear their back stories. Trust me as soon as you pick this book up, you will not want to put it down. It is a cracker of a read with twists and turns coming at you from every corner, you won’t know who to trust, or what is going to happen. The story had me from the first chapter and I managed to read it in a day. I think this is the best detective series I have ever read and I wonder where it will go from here on out. This series would be perfect for a TV series. I feel as though Ava and Luc are my friends and I was rooting for them to find the killer in their next investigation. Such a great story that I want to re read, just to get that feeling again.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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When Nadine Fitzmaurice, a manager in an insurance company, gets a distressed phone call from her eighteen-year-
old daughter, Becca, telling her she’s killed someone, Nadine’s life is turned upside down.

Now Becca is being held against her will and, determined to save her daughter, Nadine finds herself dragged into the
underworld of organised crime – and under the scrutiny of Detective Sergeant Wren Moore.

But the more Nadine gets sucked in by those holding Becca, elements of her past, and a ‘TRUTH or DARE’ game that went terribly wrong years before, come to the surface.
Eighteen years earlier, teenager, Evie Nolan went missing. She never came home.
One day Becca was there, and now she is gone too.
But can Nadine help her daughter before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:

I can’t believe I have never read any of Louise’s books before, this was a great story to get involved in. Once I had sat down with it, I found it very hard to get up as I just wanted to continue to read it. It was thrilling to the point where I told my husband to be quiet just so I could savour all the twists that came with this story that I will not forget. There are parts in the story that make you think what would I do in that situation and there are parts where it is very cleverly written with twists and turns where you least expect it. Now I need to go on a hunt and pick some more of Louise’s books up. This one was really good.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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No fingerprints. No weapon. No witnesses. Can DS Cross prove it was murder?

DS George Cross can be rude, difficult, and awkward with people. But his unfailing logic and dogged pursuit of the truth means his conviction rate is the best on the force. Now, this unusual detective is met with an even more unusual case.

When a young woman is found dead, the Bristol Crime Unit is quick to rule it a suicide: the woman had a long history of drug abuse. But her mother is convinced it was murder: her daughter had been clean for years and making strides in a new therapy programme.

As an outsider himself, DS Cross is drawn to cases involving the voiceless and the dispossessed. He is determined to defy his bosses and re-open the investigation, even if it costs him his career. Soon he is mired in a labyrinth of potential suspects, but can he solve the case before his superiors shut it down for good?

My Thoughts:

Even though this is book three in the DS Cross thriller series, they can be read as a stand alone but I will be reading the other ones. This one was brilliant and I really enjoyed it. It was full of suspense and intrigue that kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know what was going to happen throughout the story and the ending surprised me. I found DS Cross a unique and interesting character who I didn’t warm to straight away but can see what a good detective he is. A great story to get involved in and I look forward to reading all of the other books in this series.

I received a ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Some wars will be fought at home . . .

Two years into the Second World War, and German U-boats are frequently disrupting Britain’s supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front launches a new cooking contest – and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host.

For young widow Audrey winning the competition could be a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. However, her estranged sister, Gwendoline, is equally set on success even if her own kitchen maid, Nell, is competing against her. And then there is Zelda, a London-trained chef desperate to succeed in a male-dominated profession – and harbouring a secret that will change everything…

My Thoughts:

This is my perfect read and I loved everything about it. Set in the Second World War which I find this time very interesting to learn about. Food rationing then was a big thing so to help housewife’s a BBC radio program has a cooking competition to win a job on a program called Kitchen Front as the first ever female co host. There are four women who all want to win and we hear about their back stories and why they want to win. There are an interesting mix of characters with all relatable issues. I found it interesting to learn about that time and learnt things I didn’t know. I like how the book is set out and there are recipes dotted through out. I felt it was such a good story and it was an absolute delight to read it.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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The curfew
Andy and Laura are good parents. They tell their son Connor that he can go out with friends to celebrate completing his exams, but he must be home by midnight.

The lie
When Connor misses his curfew, it sets off a series of events that will change the lives of five families forever.

The truth?
Because five teenagers went into the woods that night, but only four came out. And telling the truth might mean losing everything…

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

My Thoughts:

This is my first book by T.M. Logan and I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away unfortunately. I have read a few books now about teenagers or kids going into the woods and not all of them coming back out again and they just get a bit samey. However I liked how the book is broken down into the days and also some of the characters perspective, you can feel the tension of the parents wondering where their kids have gone. It is a believable story and every parent’s worse nightmare. You won’t believe the twist that arrives either.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Emma Webster is a respectable MP.
 
Emma Webster is a devoted mother.
 
Emma Webster is innocent of the murder of a tabloid journalist.
 
Emma Webster is a liar.
 
#Reputation: The story you tell about yourself. And the lies others choose to believe…

My Thoughts:

This was another brilliant book by Sarah, she really does have a way to draw the reader in from the get go and I love it. It is a tense and gripping thriller, one where you wait with great anticipation and then something completely unexpectedly happens that shocks you to the core. You don’t know who to believe especially Emma, her character is brilliant, Sarah has written her well. It is a story that makes you think about what you would do in that situation and it has a great pace to it to keep the reader hooked and involved in the story. I am looking forward to seeing what Netflix do with this story.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Women and Love is a thought-provoking collection of seventeen tightly woven tales about the power of love, all its trials and complications, and the shattered lives it can leave in its wake. The stories explore a huge variety of sorts of love surrounding women in wildly differing settings, and features an unforgettable cast including GPs, burglars, inmates, emigrant cleaners, carers, young professionals, and many more. Navigating heavy themes, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ experiences, including gender dysphoria and searching for a sperm donor, the stories leave the reader burning with indignation, full of empathy and wonder. ‘I couldn’t sleep that night; our conversation was like a trapped bird flying around inside my head. The next morning, I texted to say I wouldn’t be coming back. I lied about having to return to my country to nurse a sick relative. I couldn’t bear to see my story mirrored in his eyes, and to see what we never had. I knew he’d understand.’

My Thoughts:

I love a book that is slightly different to what I would normally read. This is a great pick up of different short stories, which are all about love and what it can lead to some good and some bad. All of the stories involve all women and I feel as though we celebrate being a women when reading this book. We cover a whole range of topics and many different and unique jobs too. I found this such a perfect pick me up, I enjoyed quite a few of the stories some really stood out than others but they were all good in their own equal rights. It made me feel satisfied at the end.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review. Thank you to Will at Renard Press for sending me a copy.

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John Farnley, reluctant Lord and Peer, agrees to fly Professor Entwistle and Miss Sylvia Armley on their expedition, for the usual fees. It was planned as a straightforward trip to Sudan searching under the Saharan sky for obscure Nubian pyramids where they would hopefully unearth new archaeological remains.

But first they find a desperate woman, a dying man, and the ominous threat of mercenaries left leaderless after the recent colonial wars, mercenaries who are also interested in the treasures that might be hidden within the pyramids. And what could this have to do with the stories of djinn?

Trapped by an aether storm that left their aether flyer powerless, the companions work desperately to find out the secrets of the pyramids as the threat of the mercenaries grows.

Could this have anything to do with the forbidden knowledge of Hammerhand’s creation? Will the courage of John Farnley, the knowledge of Professor Entwistle, and the sharpshooting skills of Sylvia Armley save them? Or will it be the secret locked in the bronze figures?

My Thoughts:

I was so looking forward to reading this book after reading Out of the London Mist which I really enjoyed. This one was even better and I could not fault anything about it. The story carries on from Out of the London Mist so I suggest reading that one before this one as you get more of a back story and get to know all the characters also its just a fantastic read too. In this story we see some of the characters making their way to Sudan where they go on an epic journey. Trust me when I say you won’t want to put it down, I read it in a day and now want more. Lyssa is such a good story teller that you want to become involved in the story, she is a very good writer too. I look forward to her next book.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mum, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, the mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and – of course – delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears, healthy and sun-tanned… and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how – all she can focus on is that somehow, impossibly, she has her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman who came before.

But can we ever truly know our parents? Soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

My Thoughts:

Rebecca is a new author to me and I was not sure what to expect. Why haven’t I read more of her books as this one was an absolutely beautiful story of love, loss and hope. You will need tissues with this book as I used a whole box up even before the end. I found this book moved in ways I have never experienced before and I just fell in love with the story. It swept me off my feet, I felt as though I was a part of Kate’s journey. I loved it so much.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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